


Affogato

by kmlo2



Series: As Always, It's Coffee [3]
Category: B.A.P
Genre: M/M, bottom!dae because i like bottom!dae, i also like affogatos they're pure heaven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 18:23:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1698116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmlo2/pseuds/kmlo2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daehyun's life is going just as planned, until Jongup drops a dollop of ice cream into his espresso.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Affogato

The most Daehyun ever promises the girls he brings home is that he’ll see them to the lobby in the morning. He feels it’s his obligation, perhaps due to a guilty conscience, because he enjoys having company and making girls laugh and then making them scream his name, but he hates commitment.

No, actually, he’s not entirely averse to the notion of commitment – in fact he’d love to settle down one day, maybe have a kid (or four) – he simply tells himself he’s not ready for it yet. He’s in his prime right now and he’s got everything going for him; a good job, an expensive car, a nice apartment in the city. He’s too busy having a good time to settle down, and until he decides to do so he’s going to live his life without regrets.

This overcast Sunday morning is no different to the others. Daehyun escorts last night’s company to the elevators at the end of the hallway mostly in silence. As they reach the elevators, the doors open and out steps Moon Jongup, the kid who lives in the apartment next door. They make eye contact for a fraction of a second before Jongup averts his gaze and hurries past them, blushing bright red and clutching his takeaway coffee cup just a little bit closer to himself. He has always been quiet and shy, so they’ve never really spoken to each other before. That being said, they’ve shared many moments like this, where Jongup has gazed upon Daehyun with a brief but intense stare, before going red in the face and rushing away.

Sometimes, in one of the rare moments where Daehyun has nothing else to do, he ponders this. Maybe Jongup has a thing for him – even though their interactions have been limited, it’s hard to miss Jongup’s flushed cheeks every time they make eye contact. Or maybe it’s just that the walls of Daehyun’s apartment are thinner than he originally thought.

 

It’s Saturday night again, or more correctly, Sunday morning. Daehyun finds himself outside his apartment, fumbling in his pockets for his keys. He’s feeling defeated, having to return home without company. The combination of this and the alcohol swimming around in his veins is making it that much harder for him to find his keys. In the back of his hazy mind, he vaguely recalls dropping his keys while answering a call from one of his nameless, faceless one-night-stands. He doesn’t remember picking them up again before he ran out the door to catch a taxi to the club.

Huffing, he pulls out his phone to call the security guard, who may be able to help him get into his apartment. Still, he’s not keeping his hopes up since that same security guard was on his way out when Daehyun returned. He’d even held the door open for him. After listening to repetitive hold music for what seems like forever, Daehyun finally hangs up and lets his phone fall to the ground. It takes a full minute in his intoxicated state before it dawns on him that he’ll have to sleep in the corridor tonight. He bangs his forehead against his door several times and lets out an exasperated groan. There’s nothing worse than when things don’t go according to plan.

Just has he resigns himself to a night on the floor, Daehyun hears the sound of a door opening, and a quiet, curious voice asking if he’s okay. It’s Jongup. In his surprise, Daehyun sits up a bit too quickly and he feels the room spinning and a distinct lurch in his stomach. Using as few words as possible he relays his situation to his neighbour, who nods in understanding, and offers to let Daehyun sleep on his sofa tonight. Without hesitation Daehyun takes him up on the offer – anything’s better than sleeping in the hallway.

Once they’re in Jongup’s apartment he’s provided with a blanket and pillow, and even a spare toothbrush. Though his head is still spinning and his vision still blurry, Daehyun is still able to feel grateful, and the tiniest bit guilty for imposing on Jongup like this. His stomach, however, shows no guilt. Jongup gives him directions to the bathroom and he rushes out so as not to throw up the entire contents of his stomach all over the living room floor.

Jongup makes sure Daehyun is settled in before he retires to his own room, leaving the latter to his own devices. The sofa is pretty comfortable so it doesn’t take long for drowsiness to settle upon him. As he drifts off to sleep, Daehyun notices that this is the first time Jongup has ever really spoken to him.

Daehyun wakes without a hangover (thank god). Slowly, he opens his eyes and turns around, only to find himself face-to-face with Jongup. He nearly jumps out of his skin, but Jongup doesn’t seem phased. He’s smiling radiantly and asking if Daehyun would like to join him on his routine Sunday morning coffee run. Captivated by that smile, and thinking he could do with some caffeine, Daehyun agrees. Once he’s cleaned himself up, they set off.

The coffee shop is just a couple of blocks from their apartment building, hidden away in a little side street close to the art academy. After they’ve placed their orders to go, Daehyun scans the interior. It’s small and has a relaxed but chic atmosphere.

There’s a group of girls sitting at a table by the window. One of them has been making subtle glances at Daehyun ever since he stepped in the door. To his surprise, Jongup goes to say hello to her, bowing several times to her, and even taking Daehyun by the hand and introducing him too. She’s an upperclassman of Jongup’s – they both attend the art academy up the road. Daehyun slips her his business card, using formality as an excuse but secretly knowing she’ll use it to contact him for more personal matters. Once the barista has prepared their coffee, they take their leave. For good measure, Daehyun flashes the girl a charming smile, relishing the sound of her friends’ excited giggling as he exits.

On the way back to Jongup’s place, they get talking. The kid is a performing arts student, majoring in dance. Recently though, he’s been asked to be a model for some kind of fashion show that one of the academy’s lecturers is participating in. Daehyun struggles to imagine why Jongup would be selected as a model. Granted, his neighbour is proving to be more confident and sociable than he first thought, and Daehyun hasn’t actually  _seen_  what sort of body Jongup is hiding underneath all the baggy jumpers he always wears. A shiver travels down his spine at the thought.

When they arrive at Jongup’s apartment they have breakfast – coffee and ice cream. Jongup sheepishly explains that he always has coffee and ice cream for breakfast on Sundays, but Daehyun doesn’t really mind. It’s ridiculously endearing, and he’s got quite a sweet tooth himself. After breakfast Daehyun reluctantly calls the security guard to help him get into his own apartment. He feels his heart skip a beat when Jongup tells him he can drop by any time during weekends, since he normally hasn’t got much to do anyway.  
  


Despite how unexpectedly happy he was when he spent that morning with Jongup, Daehyun doesn’t make much of an effort to visit him. For the next few weekends, he just doesn’t get the opportunity – he’s been getting lucky instead. They revert back to bumping into each other in the hallway, making brief eye contact and quickly passing each other by. That doesn’t change the fact that he can’t get Jongup off his mind, however. Every now and then, he’ll picture the kid and his cheerful smile. It takes him by surprise and leaves him breathless, even when he’s in the middle of  _the act_. He often finds himself apologising to his company and having to make up an excuse for his mid-intercourse trance. Nevertheless, he manages to stay away from his neighbour.

It’s not until Daehyun wakes up alone one morning, plagued by a killer hangover, that he decides to see how Jongup is doing. He accompanies Jongup for his usual Sunday morning coffee-and-ice cream breakfast. They sit side-by-side at Jongup’s breakfast bar and Daehyun pours their takeaway coffees into proper cups as Jongup serves the ice cream. His neighbour initiates conversation this time, impervious to the fact that Daehyun has more or less ignored him up until today. He talks as if they’ve been close friends for years.

Perhaps he’s too absorbed in the conversation, because just as he goes to add an extra scoop of ice cream to Daehyun’s bowl, he accidentally drops it into his espresso instead.

The look on Jongup’s face is one of horror. He apologises over and over and he offers to swap their coffees instead. Daehyun hides his frustration with a smile and tells his neighbour not to worry. He laughs it off, saying that Jongup has made an affogato and that he’s always wanted to try one. He takes a tentative sip and finds that the contrast of hot coffee and cool ice cream is not as bad as he thought it would be. He dips his finger in and swirls it around even though his neighbour tells him to use a spoon.

Just as he’s about to lick his finger, he’s intercepted by Jongup, who brazenly puts Daehyun’s finger into his mouth. He doesn’t know which surprises him more – Jongup’s action or his own reaction to it. He’s never come undone quite so fast, at the mere sensation of Jongup’s tongue swirling around his finger.

When the kid releases Daehyun’s hand he’s blushing furiously and apologising for getting carried away, but Daehyun won’t have any of it. Perhaps it’s his burning curiosity, or the simple fact that he woke up alone, but he lets his body act of its own volition. Their first kiss is initially violent and clumsy, but their flighty touches turn slow and deliberate and soon enough Daehyun finds himself naked on the sofa, caressing the surprisingly toned muscles of Jongup’s torso and begging for lewd things to be done to him. Jongup obliges and while it hurts (oh god does it ever), he treats Daehyun carefully; running gentle fingers through his hair, holding him close, trailing kisses down his neck and shoulders. 

He never fathomed that he would enjoy this, but Jongup eventually hits a spot that triggers something in him and Daehyun can’t stop himself from writhing and crying out louder than any girl has ever made him cry out. The rest is a blur of panting and cries of pleasure right up until they climax, Jongup gasping his name and burying his face in the crook of Daehyun’s neck.

As Daehyun lays on the sofa waiting for his senses to recover, he is vaguely aware of Jongup placing a tender kiss on his lips, and whispering words that sound suspiciously like ‘I love you’. He suddenly feels ill.  
  


Flustered and confused, Daehyun doesn’t visit Jongup again. Instead, he busies himself with all the things that comprised his life before that one particular morning. He puts extra effort into bringing girls home on Saturday nights. Recently he’s been seeing that girl who attends the art academy a lot. She has a boyfriend already, but Daehyun happily glosses over this minor detail. Usually they’ll end up going to her place but Daehyun doesn’t mind since it means he has an excuse not to see Jongup the following day.

If ever he does bump into Jongup in the hallway, as if by reflex his arm wraps around the shoulder of the girl he’s walking with. Every time it happens, Jongup lowers his head to hide the dejection in his eyes, and Daehyun feels a tugging at his heart but refuses to acknowledge it. He strides past Jongup the way he strides past these feelings, pretending they don’t exist, or simply that he doesn’t see them.

One Sunday morning when Daehyun returns from the lobby, he spots Jongup waiting for him outside his door. He doesn’t wait for Daehyun to approach him before he begins talking. He bluntly tells Daehyun that he’s always loved him, but he knew Daehyun only liked girls so he was content with admiring his crush from afar. He could dismiss the jealousy he felt whenever he saw Daehyun with a girl, whenever he heard them doing unspeakable things the night before. Even when they began talking to each other, Jongup didn’t get his hopes up and instead was content with simply being friends. But now that things turned out the way they have, he’d actually begun to think there could be a future for them.

He can’t bear to see Daehyun with other people anymore. It kills him every time they meet in the hallway and there’s yet another girl clinging to him. From the strain in his voice, Daehyun can tell Jongup is on the verge of crying, but he doesn’t shed a tear. He demands that Daehyun gives him a definite answer. All he has to do is say that he has no feelings for Jongup, and Jongup will leave him alone.  
  


It’s much more difficult than he makes it sound.  
  


Daehyun isn’t one to fumble with his words but right now it feels as if his entire mouth is paralysed. He stutters as he explains to Jongup that he’s quite happy doing what he’s doing, and that he doesn’t want to settle for just one person. He tells Jongup that what happened between them was an accident, something that shouldn’t have happened at all. He leaves out the fact that he feels lightheaded and euphoric when he thinks of Jongup, and the fact that he is afraid of committing, because at the moment he doesn’t realise that either of these things are true. With little more than a nod and an ‘oh, I see’, Jongup retreats to his own apartment, leaving Daehyun feeling inexplicably remorseful.  
  


He continues doing what he’s been doing – drinking till he can’t walk straight, working long after his colleagues have left the office, seeing that one girl, spending the night at her place. Daehyun leaves himself barely any room to think of anything else, and that’s just how he likes it. It means he has no time to think of Jongup and how upset he must be, and how bad Daehyun feels that he’s hurt him like this.

Finally one Sunday morning, Daehyun wakes up on the floor of his apartment, head throbbing and bones aching. The events from last night replay clearly in his mind’s eye. From the very start, something in him knew that things would turn out this way. He knew her boyfriend would find out. It was inevitable, really. Lucky for Daehyun he’d been able to punch the guy in the face and make a quick exit before things got complicated. Once he reached home, he had promptly deleted the girl’s number from his phone and collapsed in a tired heap on the ground. Now, as he lays on the floor, gazing up at his ceiling, an awful feeling finds its way into the pit of his stomach. There’s another issue he has to deal with before things get complicated, too.

Daehyun paces around anxiously in the hallway, waiting for Jongup to answer the door. He’s knocked several times already and now he can’t help but imagine all the terrible things that could have happened to him. Before his imagination spirals out of control, however, the door creaks open. Daehyun turns around, putting on a smile, only to find that the person at the door isn’t Jongup.

The old lady looks thoroughly annoyed but tries to remain pleasant when she asks Daehyun what the matter is. Daehyun overcomes his brief moment of shock and asks if Jongup is home. When she realises who Daehyun is talking about, she kindly informs him that Jongup no longer lives here. In fact, he moved out two days ago.

Following that moment his life carries on as usual, only it hurts. He struggles to wake up on time for work even though he has started going to bed earlier, constantly tired. The parties he goes to are getting cumbersome and the girls he meets are becoming harder to tolerate. A month down the track and Daehyun has become something of a recluse, only leaving his apartment to go to work, and to buy espresso to go from Jongup’s favourite coffee shop on Sundays. He might stop doing that soon too, since he always seems to bump into that one girl’s now-ex-boyfriend there.  
  


It’s Friday morning and Daehyun stumbles around his apartment looking for his socks, keys and phone. He’s already late, it’s pouring down with rain outside, and his car is currently being serviced so he has no choice but to take the bus to work. It’s going to be one of  _those_  days. As he steps out of the lobby and gets soaked in rain, he realises that he’s left his umbrella back at the apartment. Grumbling, he returns inside and enters the elevator, ignoring the incredulous smile the security guard gives him.

When the elevator doors open at his floor, Daehyun is met with a sight he never thought he’d see again. His eyes widen, his heart aches. Without thinking, he calls out to Jongup, who is walking out of his former apartment with a bag of miscellaneous belongings. Jongup tries to keep his head down and avoid Daehyun, but it’s futile seeing as they’re the only two people in the hallway. Still, he pays no heed to Daehyun saying that they have to talk, and attempts to move past him.

If he tries to stop Jongup, Daehyun will be late for work, but he can’t afford to care right now. This opportunity may never present itself ever again. He grabs the kid’s wrist and pulls him into a tight embrace and pleads with him to listen, even if it’s just for a minute. He feels Jongup struggle in his arms but he’s not going to let go – not until he’s told him everything.

Initially, his words are haphazard, as they tend to be whenever he talks to Jongup. He admits he has always been a coward when it comes to responsibility. He tells Jongup that the thought of commitment scares the hell out of him. In the beginning, he didn’t know why he felt the need to avoid Jongup. Frankly, it’s taken all this time for him to see that the reason he avoided Jongup was because something in his subconscious knew he was falling for him. His innate reaction was, as always, to escape commitment.

By now, Jongup has stopped struggling, but Daehyun doesn’t let go. His voice becomes uncontrollably shaky when he confesses that while he’s terrified of the implications, he really loves Jongup, and he’s sorry he didn’t notice it sooner. At the risk of sounding like a pushover, he tells his former neighbour that from now on he’ll try his best to return Jongup’s feelings. He’s a new person now, a better person.

At length, Jongup pulls himself free from Daehyun’s grasp. He has tears in his eyes, but they’re promptly wiped away with the sleeve of his baggy jumper. He smiles the same radiant smile Daehyun fell in love with and extends his hand.  
  


“Hi, I’m Moon Jongup. Pleased to meet you, new person.”  
  


Daehyun takes a second to catch on to what Jongup is saying. Chuckling, he shakes Jongup’s hand and bows when Jongup does so. He introduces himself, Jung Daehyun, and asks if Jongup lives around here. The latter giggles bashfully, shaking his head. Daehyun takes his hand and begins to lead him to the elevators.  
  


“In that case, there’s a coffee shop I have to show you. They make pretty decent espresso, but it tastes even better with ice cream.”

 

 

 

_Affogato - End._

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the last installment of the Coffee series. Hope you enjoyed! ^^


End file.
